It’s that time of year. Again!

The marketing edict to keep your name in front of your customers and prospects was nicely followed by the company I hired to sealcoat my driveway last year.  Round about April, I received in the mail a timely reminder: “It’s that time of the year again” when driveways ravaged by the winter snow and salt should be attended to.

Although I’m a homeowner, I’m not “Joe Homeowner”, who maintains his property to the hilt. So I appreciated the reminder (and the associated $25 off coupon) but I wasn’t sure the call to action applied to me, since I’d just had my driveway sealcoated last spring.

My advice to the sealcoating guy…Educate your customer. Advise on the benefits of doing this maintenance annually (or the impact of not doing it annually). If I know whether or why I should schedule the work, I more likely would! What do you think?

For sale is for a 6 foot wide, 40″ high Black tabletop display covered in Velcro Fabric and including:

• 3 center panel section each panel 20″W  X 40″H – internally hinged.
• 2 Velcro Endcaps
• 1 Starlite halogen high intensity lamp
• Lightweight carrying case

Yes, the photo displays blue, but the available display really is BLACK!

According to the wholesaler from whom I bought this item:

Compare shop this unit at $550-$650. This quality display is an outstanding value. Comes packaged in a heavy duty corrugated shipping box for storage. These displays are lightweight, transportable and easy quick setup. These displays are an efficient marketing tool and make a quality impression at any show. This display is adaptable to any standard 6 or 8 foot table as you would find at any trade show or convention center.

It has never been used. I am offering it to EMCCC members for the price of $175, including free delivery within 15 miles of zip 19027.

I purchased this item in early 2009 for a trade show for my company Just Rites, but I decided my concept could be more effectively communicated using a custom designed display, which you can see here:
 

Below is a photo of this display as part of a trade show booth (NOTE: We had to dissipate throngs of interested prospects who had flocked to our booth to get this clean image : )

 
Thanks for looking!

I just came across an article which stood out from the pack! Headline (same as post title) caught my eye and the advice makes good sense. The article was written by Denise Corcoran, a business and leadership coach and CEO of The Empowered Business(tm).

How much will it cost? A frequent question. But before it can be answered accurately, a number of steps should be undertaken prior to contacting a web designer for an estimate. Here’s a handy common sense planning guide to help you develop a successful web site.

1. Determine your target market(s)
   Identify who you would like to be using your site and what their objectives would be in visiting your site. Your successful web site should be able to help visitors meet their objectives.
2. Determine your web site objectives and how you will know they are being met
   Consider building in mechanisms to track number of visitors and other metrics that show your web site is being used in the way you intended. For example, a newsletter signup opportunity would be an indication that users want more of what your site is offering.
3. Determine time and budget constraints
   Design and development costs generally hinge on factors such the size (number of pages) and functionality of your site design. If your wish list exceeds your available budget, desired features can be prioritized and phased in over time.
4. Obtain input from stakeholders
   Clients, Board Members, employees and others who have an interest in your company can be surveyed to determine what information or functions they would find of value on your web site.
5. See what your competition is up to
   Visit competitor web sites to identify features and information that they provide that would also be desirable to your customers to have access to.
6. Identify appealing web sites
   Locate web sites that appeal to you visually and functionally and note what makes them work for you. Look at use of images, navigation systems, tone of the copy and other elements. It might be refreshing to look at sites in a non-related industry.
7. Make a site map
   Prepare a logical structural outline of all the pages you expect to have on your site and how they relate to each other. This process will be instrumental in determining the navigation of your web site
8. Use existing marketing materials
   Determine if your company has existing marketing collateral or other materials that would be useful to your prospective web site visitors and see how this material could be incorporated on your site. No need to create new materials, when you can simply reformat existing information.
9. Assign responsibility for new site content
   Assign one or more employees to develop content for the different sections of your site. If multiple individuals or departments are involved in developing and approving content there will be an additional need to make sure that the site copy is written and/or edited from a consistent perspective to make it a cohesive unit.
10. Develop a plan for the maintenance of your web site
    Inaccurate or outdated content is a sure turnoff to site visitors. Fresh content gives visitors a reason to return to your site. Establish a list of the various sections of your web site that need to be kept up to date and schedule for updating them. Based on factors such as the quantity and frequency of required updates, determine if it would be preferable to have your site updated in-house or maintained by your web developer.
11. Assign a project manager and develop a system to interact with your web developer
    Project time and cost can be streamlined if one person is assigned the responsibility for coordinating all internal information and communicating with your web developer on behalf of your company. This frees the web developer to do their job instead of dealing with internal conflicts, repeating information, unauthorized decision-makers, etc.